


Shine (like an angel)

by yukaris



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, doten and yutae are side pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-09-25 20:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9841829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukaris/pseuds/yukaris
Summary: Youngho wants to make living as uncomplicated as possible. Taeil makes it hard.





	1. friends?

Taeil fixes the straps of his bag nervously as he waits for the bus. The waiting time is approximately five minutes and it wouldn't seem so eternally long if not for the guy standing close to him, also waiting for the bus. He is taller than Taeil and really good-looking, Taeil had noted this from day one of the new semester when suddenly on a Sunday morning, a handsome boy, probably around his age, stood waiting for the bus at the spot where Taeil waited alone for as long as he remembered. It has been two weeks now and Taeil thinks that it was kind of lonely without the boy around, which is an odd thing to think about considering it’s not been too long since he’s been there.

 

Two weeks and they haven't even talked. It's not like there's nothing to say, Taeil might come up with thousands of things to talk about with the boy if he really gave it a thought, or maybe even talk about weather because that's a good start, but that would be really awkward and wouldn't he think that Taeil is a little too desperate? The boy is attractive for sure but what if he has bad personality? He _does_ know people who have turned out to be completely different from how they look. Like Yuta, for instance, who is cute but is definitely the 21st century incarnation of the devil.

 

Taeil shakes away the thought of Yuta and devils when his eyes meet the boy's. His lips are turned slightly and Taeil notices that he is smiling. At him. Taeil's heart skips.He has been doing that a lot these past few days, which is weird, because Taeil doesn't know what he is smiling at. They haven't talked and they are just strangers who go to different schools, Taeil feels a little self-conscious at times, like maybe the boy is making fun of him. He does have that mischievous glint on his eyes. Maybe there's something on his face or maybe his tie isn’t tied properly, even though Taeil made sure to glance at the mirror and check everything twice before he left home.

 

He has a nice smile, though and it's kind of unfair how despite his mixed feelings, he wants the boy to smile at him more often. This time he returns the smile, a sloppy and awkward grin that probably comes off more pretentious than genuine. The boy reverts his gaze, he isn't staring at Taeil anymore but he is still smiling. Taeil's stomach feels weird all of a sudden, he shouldn’t skipped breakfast this morning.

 

The bus halts right in front of them. As always Taeil gets on the bus first, the boy always takes his time or maybe he is just kind of slow. He has that droopy look, as if he hasn't had much time to sleep. Taeil has even seen him dozing on the bus a few times and even drooling, which was kind of adorable but also really gross although it was Taeil's fault for staring in the first place.

 

Normally, Taeil would sit on the opposite side to the boy so he could have the perfect view of the boy sleeping or just tapping his fingers on his thighs listening to music on his earphones. Today he just sits casually next to Taeil, and smiles at the elderly lady who usually sits next to Taeil. Too bad, Taeil can't stare more at him today, but he is sitting so close that Taeil's heart beats fast all the same.

 

The boy says nothing and Taeil wonders if he should say something. Since the boy sat next to him, it means that he wants to be friendly or at least he is initiating ...something. But that makes Taeil even more nervous. He should have brought his earphones too. He could at least distract himself.

 

The bus ride is about twenty minutes and Taeil doesn't have to worry about talking to the boy because he is now sleeping. He has something else to worry about though, because his head is currently rested on Taeil’s shoulder. He can even smell his shampoo. 

 

He fiddles with his fingers, sitting stiffly, because he doesn't want the boy to be uncomfortable or to wake him up but he also feels restless when he is nervous and wants to move his body. It must be uncomfortable for the boy too, since he is so tall. Taeil hasn't had many people rest their head on his shoulders before, not to mention people who he barely knows and who barely know _him_ but oddly he doesn't feel like complaining about the boy's head on his shoulder. He might even like it just a little, and that's kind of embarrassing. If he had just suspicions before, now he is definitely sure that he has a crush on this boy.

 

He doesn't know what to do with this information. Though, if Yuta knows about this he is never going to hear the end of it. Nobody is telling him. He breathes in. Nobody is ever telling Yuta. He breathes out.

 

He hates to do it, but Taeil has to get off at the next stop. He shifts his body just the slightest bit, but he manages to stir the boy awake. Strangely enough, the boy looks a little red on the face once he realizes that he'd been sleeping on Taeil's shoulder, but maybe that's because he just woke up. He mutters something unintelligible and looks down. Taeil uses this time to abruptly get up and leave.

\---

"I think I have a crush." he says the first thing when he meets Yuta and then widens his eyes. he shouldn't have said that. He promised he wouldn’t tell Yuta.

 

Yuta gives him _the_ look. Taeil swallows. He somehow ends up telling him the whole story with frequent unnecessary comments from Yuta ("that's honestly so gay", "okay, i don't want to know the smell of his shampoo", "wait, you don't even know his name?")

 

Taeil hits him on the head hard enough to make him wince. "I'm asking for some advice here!" He'd take anything at this point.

 

"Have you like, tried talking to him —through unconventional means?"

 

Taeil isn't sure what unconventional means are. "no?"

 

"Geez, Taeil. Letters, notes?" 

 

"Ugh, isn't that too cheesy?"

 

"Well, the quest for true love never was not cheesy---wait, I don’t think that’s how it goes. "

 

"You’re not really helping."

 

Yuta makes a show of putting his hands on his chin and thinking deeply. This is a problem but I have the best solution!” Yuta grins like he’s found the best idea to ever exist, but he has an infectious smile. Taeil hates it and loves it at the same time, it’s what Yuta always uses to convince him to make bad decisions.

 

“Just introduce yourself to him. Baby steps, y’know? Where he is from, what’s his favorite color all that jazz.”

Okay, maybe that’s not too bad of an idea. Yuta is evolving. Yuta ruffles his hair and says ‘they grow up so fast” while wiping a fake tear, Taeil jabs him in ribs, not painfully but still, he is the hyung here.

He can talk to his crush and be smooth, no problem.

\---

Actually, no. This was a bad idea. Taeil was the one to initiate this conversation. He was going to be smooth.

 

“I’m Youngho. What’s your name?” The boys says. He is sitting next to him today too, and he is looking at him with a friendly expression. Taeil wants to tell him that he looks kinda cute with his hair obstructing his right eye. Weird.

 

“Moon Taeil.” He says. Youngho nods his head.

 

“What is your favorite color?” Taeil blurts out. Youngho laughs at that. He definitely thinks that Taeil has the socializing skill of a potato now.

 

“It’s black,” says Youngho “what’s yours?”

 

Taeil makes an o with his mouth. “Mine’s black too.” See, they match!

 

Youngho smiles and says, “You’re cute.” Taeil can feel his cheeks heating up and hopes Youngho can’t see him blush. This is embarrassing as hell. Cute as in you look like you’re 5 or cute as in, I want to snog you. Which one is it? Taeil frowns.

 

The conversation moves smoothly after that because Youngho talks a lot and he is a charmer. He is also from Chicago and moved here not too long ago, which means he is good at English but he’s studying Mandarin as well. He also plays piano, for fucks sake. He’s been going to piano practices after school and studying two languages on top of that which is why he has been so tired these days and he is really sorry that he slept on Taeil’s shoulder yesterday.

 

Taeil tells him that he doesn’t mind at all, which is why Youngho ends up resting his head on Taeil’s shoulder for the rest of the bus ride, again. Taeil doesn’t mind really, but the butterflies on his stomach are a nuisance and it would have been great if Youngho turned out to be a fuckboy or something, but he’s sweet and friendly and really, really nice because he even ends up giving Taeil his number and says he can call him anytime. Taeil wants to call him of course, he wants to call him all the time from now on, but he also doesn’t want to ruin it. This new friendship. He doesn’t want Youngho to think badly of him, either.

\---

Taeil is supposed to be having a group study but he’s busy texting Youngho. Ten would not normally care but Doyoung, with his keen senses, is suspecting that there is something wrong with Taeil.

Ten catches Yuta’s eyes but Yuta just shrugs. Yuta knows that Ten is only interested in these study dates or whatever because Doyoung is so insistent about getting the top grades and Ten is kind of an idiot when it comes to Doyoung. Yuta knows this very well, which is why he comes every time because he is just really nosy about stuff like that, even though he couldn’t care less about studying. Yuta is especially chipper today, because there seem to be not one but two lovesick foosl on the library, at their table today and they are not getting anything done.

It’s not too long before Doyoung gets exasperated and snaps his book shut with a loud thud, enough to get Taeil’s attention who looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Who.are.you.texting.hyung?” Doyoung says. Ten giggles and Yuta hides his face behind his book, laughing probably, because Doyoung, well, he tries so hard to be scary but he is just too cute. Taeil is flustered anyway, which is why it is even more hilarious.

“Um...it’s a friend?” Taeil says.

Doyoung eyes him curiously. “Really? If it was just some “friend” you wouldn’t be ignoring us and not paying attention to Statistics. Hyung, you love Statistics!” Yuta laughs louder this time because Taeil’s feelings for Statistics are far from ‘love’ actually. Ten wonders how a smart person like Doyoung can be so perceptive yet dense at the same time, is that even possible?

“Also, we’re the only friends you have.” Doyoung smirks. Taeil shakes his head. “I Do Not, and he’s a new friend.”

He lays his head down on his textbook saying something like, “ithinkilikehim.”

“What?” says Ten, suddenly interested.

“I think I like him?” Taeil looks miserable, Ten can relate.

Doyoung looks sympathetic all of a sudden. He pats Taeil’s hair softly. “What is the problem then?”

“Uhh…he’s just really nice and friendly so I don’t want to ruin what we have. I mean, he might not even like guys. What if he hates me if I tell him?”

“But how can you know if you don’t ask? If he’s really all that nice as you say, I’m sure he would understand. Anyway, how could anyone not like you back?” Doyoung smiles at him. Ten stares at him in awe. Yuta hits his shins under the table. That idiot.

Taeil groans because Doyoung is right, he is just not sure if he is ready. They’ve been texting each other since two weeks and the more he gets to know Youngho, the more Taeil likes him. But Doyoung is right, and even if Youngho doesn’t like him back, he at least deserves to know how Taeil feels about him, or he will unknowingly keep sending Taeil over the edge with his sweetness and keep making him feel dejected about his feelings that seem to go nowhere.

\---

“Hey, you want to come over to my room this weekend? My roommate is going to visit his parents.” Ten asks Doyoung when Yuta and Taeil have both left and they’re the last people leaving before the library closes. The evening air feels nice, Doyoung looks extra cosy and warm, Ten wishes he could hold his hands.

Doyoung smiles. “Why not? We can get our assignments done in advance and watch a movie, later, without any disturbance.” Yep, dense alright. Ten might not really be looking forward to doing assignments but he’s looking forward to spending some time alone with Doyoung. He smiles and puts his hands inside his pockets to warm it up. He can’t wait till its Friday.


	2. Best Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for this super super late update ;__; writer's block sucks and i just ended up hating everything i wrote. this chapter is short but hey at least its..something?

The first time Youngho sees Taeil he doesn’t think much of him. He’d moved into this neighborhood not too long ago so he didn’t know anyone. You could say that maybe it was his extroverted nature that made him want to talk to Taeil and be friends with him, even when Taeil appeared so shy at first. Perhaps, he could have also been seen as a cool guy, had he not embarrassed himself by sleeping, in fact, shamelessly drooling on his shoulders. Taeil didn’t mind it much later, of course, but they were just strangers then and Youngho just had to be so tired that day, he’d probably end up asleep on his feet and fallen down some ditch, but Taeil’s shoulders were strangely comfortable, even though he had to lean a little. Taeil must have thought that he was someone who didn’t have his shit together. Totally uncool.

The thing is, Youngho does have his shit together. He is doing a major on something he genuinely enjoys, he is always dressed well and his room is never messy (he has Taeyong, his roommate, to thank for that, but still) he can cook decently and rarely gets sick, has a part-time job that pays decently. His life is supposedly perfect, he does get tired of doing too much at once but that comes with its own sense of accomplishment, he doesn’t stress about anything more than necessary, unlike Taeyong who’s always fretting about one thing or another. He should be the happiest person, really, and he is.

But something seems missing. It’s not something Youngho constantly worries over or anything, it’s always somewhere in the back of his mind. Like a single puzzle piece that doesn’t fit, a weird niggling feeling that only makes itself known when he is about to fall asleep.

Taeyong tells him that he just needs to get laid. Well, those weren’t his exact words but that was the gist of it. Anyhow, it has been long since he’s dated anyone so there might be some amount of truth to that. But he doesn’t think the feeling will go away miraculously when he falls in love, life is not a rom-com.

“You should try a dating app.” Taeyong says, out of the blue. It’s about 2 am, Taeyong wasn’t falling asleep either way and Youngho doesn’t have morning classes tomorrow, so they play video games. Youngho raises his eyebrows. It’s not like he doesn’t know the reason Taeyong’s inclination to sleepless nights.

“Yeah? And you should try calling Yuta.” He knows he is being kind of a jerk, trying to divert the topic back to Taeyong when Taeyong is such a good friend and he tries so hard for Youngho’s sake. But Taeyong is lonely on his own way, and Youngho doesn’t like it when he is like that, because he knows as a best friend, he can’t be like how Yuta is or was to him. And it makes him feel bitter for some reason. Which is precisely why he ends up mentioning Yuta, because Taeyong has to either man up and call him again or just move on.

Taeyong shakes his head. “What would we even talk about? It’s already been two years. Yuta must have forgotten about me already.” He smiles sadly, making Youngho want to hug him. “But this not about me, you dumbass. I am the only one you talk to these days.”

“That’s not true,” Youngho says defensively. “I did make a friend recently who I talk a lot with, thank you very much!”

Taeyong is suddenly really interested to know about this friend. So, Youngho ends up telling him all about Taeil, with a smile appearing on his face like it always does when he thinks about Taeil. He has an awkward sort of personality, but he is surprisingly funny and cute in his own way. They’ve been talking to each other a lot, and he is starting to actually open up to him, has even been playful at times. Youngho likes that he is slowly getting to see Taeil come out of his shell and show his true self to him. It gives him a weird sense of satisfaction.

Youngho ends up telling about every little thing Taeil does that Youngho finds quirky or cute, like how he talks gibberish sometimes, has a habit of fidgeting with his fingers or like how he has awesome taste in music and how he has this ethereal look to him when he closes his eyes and hums his favorite song but would not sing for Youngho no matter how much he pesters him about it.

Taeyong nods when Youngho stops speaking. “That doesn’t sound like just a friend.” He gives Youngho a wink as he gets up to go back to sleep, leaving Youngho confused. What does he mean by “not just a friend”? Best friends?

 

* * *

 

If there is one thing Taeyong hates about Youngho, is that he doesn’t know when to shut up. He was planning to spend the whole weekend by just relaxing, maybe watch a movie or two and catch up on the sleep he lost because of the group project he ended up doing all alone, and Youngho had the audacity to imply that it was because of Yuta. Maybe Yuta was the 0.0001 % reason but that was it.  Stupid Youngho had to go and tell Taeil that Taeyoung wants to hang out with them.

He doesn’t. Not only because he doesn’t want to be the third wheel but also because Taeyong knows what Youngho is trying to do, and he also knows that Youngho is just trying to be the supportive best friend, but he shouldn’t worry. Taeyong is perfectly okay with spending his time alone. 

“But you were the one who said that we need to go out more!” Youngho huffs. He has been excited about meeting Taeil and his friends, thinks that it would be fun if Taeyong tagged along too. Taeyong begs to differ. He has already used up all his energy on socializing this week and he needs to be home to replenish it.

“Um,no? I said it was “you” who needs to get out more.” Taeyong crosses his hands, thinking about searching some new recipes to try out now that he is free.

Youngho insists it will be fun, in fact, he literally threatens to drag Taeyong out of their apartment himself and cause a commotion and get them scolded by the neighbors. Nobody would do anything that stupid, but this is Youngho, so Taeyong has no choice to go along.

He hopes it will be as fun as Youngho promises it will be, but Taeyong is not expecting too much.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant promise when i'll post the next chap but it will be soon-ish, i hope


End file.
